Chart House

This restaurant is unbelievably over-​priced for the quality of the food. In fact, we assumed that it was the 1^st week of the semester for the culinary school at Scottsdale Community College and that new students were being tested on their cooking skills in the kitchen to assess what they’d need to learn in the coming year. We concluded they’d need to learn a lot if that was indeed the case! The setting overlooking a lake is nice if you are seated such that you can see out. The place has a men’s clubby gestalt to it. It was so moody (e.g., dark) that every single patron we saw with a menu had their smartphones out with the flashlights turned on to read the small font, lightly printed offerings.
The only tasty dish we tried was the chopped spinach salad. The baked, stuffed shrimp was over-​cooked and slightly charred. The grilled tilapia was much too over-​salted. And what they were calling a shrimp «scampi» (a very specific set of ingredients and flavors qualifies as a scampi) absolutely was not; rather, it was a gluey, tasteless interpretation of an Alfredo sauce on a large pile of linguine with a not excessive number of small-​medium-​ish sized shrimps. Because the scampi was misrepresented, the one of us who ordered the stuffed shrimp was long finished with their meal before the replacement for the ‘scampi’ dish, a tilapia came out. That meal then had to be eaten alone also.
We were charged the full, exorbitant prices for the dishes we ate. No comp for the inconvenience of having to eat separately after looking forward to a special dinner. No comp of a dessert. No apology. In fact, the waitress and whoever came out to respond to the situation (he didn’t identify himself…) both acted as though it was our fault that their food was ill-​prepared and inaccurately named.
Chart House needs to hire decent chefs at this place if they’re going to charge the prices they’re charging. All I could keep thinking while trying to eat these dishes was, «What would Gordon Ramsay say?» Believe me, it wouldn’t be printable here…

My husband and I come here often. This is the only place we go to for steaks, they make it the best. We enjoy the atmosphere, the views and the staff is always good to us. Always a good time here.

We made reservations for Christmas in late October for our annual dinner tradition. We were a party of 7, and when we arrived the host sat us at an unacceptable table. It was simply 3 cocktail tables pushed together and still set for 4 at each. The silver wear was left on even though those settings were in places where no one could sit. Our son had to sit on the crack in between 2 of the small tables and had nowhere to put his food. When I asked the host if they had a table more suitable for a party of 7, I was tole that people who had come earlier for those large tables. If we made reservations two months in advance, I would think a table would be set aside for us. It was very disappointing and took away from our dinner since it was difficult to make eye contact around the cocktail tables. I was even more disappointed to discover this is a Landry restaurant. We eat at Mastros often and have never had this issue. Needless to say, we would not recommend this restaurant to our friends of family.

A++ restaurant Awesome view. Service A++
our server Melissa D was awesome. Everything we ordered was very flavorful. We are very great full for the wait staff and others for serving us on Christmas Day.

So Landry’s took over the Chart House at some point and I have noticed a significant improvement in their food and service. Had the lobster bisque and mac nut mahi; both were well prepared and flavorful. At this time of year their location on the lake is stunning, with beautiful holiday lights. The service is average but not bad. I plan to go back and see what else they have to offer.

Really disappointed in the food and the service. I have been to other locations and they were really good. I had a shrimp trio and the shrimp were very small and lacked flavor. The asparagus had huge trunks and were very hard. The service was mediocre, we were a party of 6 and all felt the same about the food and drink. Scratching this place off our list.

WHAT A FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING DINNER I HAD HERE AT CHART HOUSE TONIGHT! Yes, folks, my family and I don’t cook for Turkey day. We don’t like the mess or the cooking part. Lol. Anyways, my dad made reservations here a few weeks ago online. We were seated within a few minutes upon arrival and greeted quickly by our server. The ambiance was great. Super intimate with low lighting (probably not best for those with poor vision LOL) and beautiful views! The buildings across the lake were decorated with beautiful Christmas lights and if it were day time, I’m sure the lake view would have been amazing.
So, we started off with a bottle of white wine that my dad picked. Forgot which kind. We ordered the kimchee calamari, and oh my lanta, what a great choice that was! It was a little salty, however, so if you’re watching your salt intake, beware. For thanksgiving, they offered a turkey dinner, so of course I ordered this as did the rest of my family. It came with turkey, choice of mashed potatoes or sweet potato, creamed spinach, cranberry jelly, and cornbread stuffing with your choice of pumpkin or pecan pie for dessert. Yes, it was exquisite. Perhaps my favorite part was the creamed spinach. When we ran out of wine, I ordered the fiery cucumber cocktail (cucumber martini basically with cayenne pepper rim… Caliente!). My boyfriend ordered the berry Moscow mule… The berries complimented the ginger beer SO well!
I guess I was overall very pleased with the atmosphere, food and the service. It is strange that this place got mediocre reviews overall… Perhaps it is necessary to look at demographics to see whether or not reviews will actually be accurate. ;)
Although we came here for Thanksgiving, I would definitely come back again another night. I would want to sit on the patio for sure during the day and enjoy Arizona’s wonderful winter season. I recommend this place for sure.

I travel often therefore I eat out quite a bit This place is grossly understaffed and thus the servers have poor attitudes. It was 75% empty by the way. I felt they made it clear they didn’t want customers so I obliged them and simply left.
I’m very easy going… I can’t remember the last time I did that. If you want to enjoy a meal for your money, go elsewhere. It seems the staff would appreciate it if you did.

Went to dinner on Sun evening. Beautiful décor in a beautiful setting on a pond. Ordered shrimp cocktail (it’s a seafood place right?).
Waitress brought me five shrimps that apparently died from malnutrition. Nice presentation with dry ice. Shrimp was room temp (barf). Check please. Off to Ruth’s Chris.
This Chart House is not the same as the one in Waikiki (started by same owner though).
Run.

Went to Chart House for gazpacho and had yummy wine, prime rib, shrimp, and a delicious apple crisp dessert. The view of the lake is peaceful and pretty. I chose a wine flight and it was perfect with my dinner. Our waiter, Michael, was attentive and did not rush us. I would go back any time for a glass of wine and a dessert or appetizer. I would have loved to see the sunset there, but we were too early. Definitely will go back for cooler evenings, because it looks like they have a nice patio.

Wonderful ambiance here with the ability to dine lakeside on the patio. Plus happy hour offers great selections including prime rib sliders & kim chee calamari. The regular menu is wonderful but a bit pricey on spots. Still, a great place to dine.

This restaurant has just slipped by me all these years. We had late evening reservations for a party of 7. We arrived while it was still light out so we were able to see the view of the water. Shortly after it got dark but a monsoon storm rolled in giving us a spectacular light show. Our server Joshua was super efficient, friendly, good with the children in our party, and pretty funny too. Each entrée was more than enough for each of us, and every one of us enjoyed the taste and presentation. Not a single complaint and wouldnt change a thing. I know Chart House has been open for years and I hope they stay open for many more!

The Chart House use to be a real gem — sadly, things have changed. I took two of my brothers there for what I promised would be a fantastic steak-​and-​lobster dinner. First, although hardly anybody else was in the restaurant they stuck us at the warmest table (facing the sun) they had. Our lobster was not fully cooked; and, our asparagus was thick and tough. This place is way over priced and past its prime…

One of my favorite places. The location is great. The view is phenomenal. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is subdued and relaxed.

I spent my birthday at Chart House last night and had a wonderful experience. The food was great I got the stuffed shrimp and to drink the moscato sangria… yum! Anyways the food was great but to top my experience my server was even greater. Josh was our server and he went above and beyond his duties. My two year old daughter was with us and when she wanted cherries from my drink and couldn’t have them he went and got her a plate of cherries then when she was eating all my croutons he went and grabbed her a bowl of croutons. It’s the little things like that, that made my experience so great! Plus he was just all round a great service provider and fun to talk too. So thank you Josh I hope you get some to read this or someone acknowledges you because you were awesome!

We went for Restaurant Week.
My boyfriend made a reservation for 5:30 and even though we arrived early, we were promptly seated right next to one of the windows. We were given not only the restaurant week menu, but the regular one and a Gluten-​Free one to use as a cross-​reference.
We opted to pay extra to take advantage of the salad bar and I am so glad we did. It was delicious. Fresh ingredients. All very cold — which is what I love.
I started with the spinach artichoke dip which was delicious. He had the hummus trio with fried plantains. He said the roasted pepper one was the best, closely followed by the edamame, and the original fell short with too much garlic.
He loved his prime rib and my black and blue salmon was phenomenal. I have never had such a well crafted piece of salmon. The bleu cheese butter and roasted onions brought out the flavor. The rice was meh, but who needs rice when you have salmon like that?
Dessert — he opted for the crème brûlée and enjoyed it. I had the mini mud pie and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Service was fine. The manager stopped by our table to double check.
We will definitely be back.

The service is great. The cocktails are superb. However, I went for the food, and for the cost, I found it disappointing. The crab cakes were awful and tasted like they used canned crab. The server was great about it and immediately offered to replace it with something else or take it off our bill. The manager on the other hand seemed a bit offended by my dislike of the crab even though I highly complimented the halibut.
I’d go back for the bar, not the food.

I don’t quite know how to rate Chart House. We came here for restaurant week with the promise of a pretty twilight lake view and delicious dinner.
We made reservations. But for some reason it took 15 minutes and 4 hostesses to seat us. We waited for our server Bucky to arrive and then felt a bit rushed to get our orders in. He talked at us like a pirate. All you could see out the window was the bright reflection of the glaring bar lights. So much for a window seat upon the lake.
Then the food came. It was delicious! I never realized that a caesar salad could be dressed up to taste this good. And the macadamia nut crusted shrimp was THE best ever. Sooo good! Yum! My date enjoyed his prime rib although it was extra fatty. He also reports that the clam chowder was only average.
Dessert became a problem. We were informed that they were all out of crème brûlée. This was a major disappointment since this drew us to their restaurant week menu. The server was also unwilling to substitute a different desert item from the regular menu. Bad call. In the end, our server surprised us with the last crème brûlée and it was soggy, mushy, and cold. Sad face.
We overheard another table complaining to the manager about the slip up with their reservations too. Service makes a difference, folks. We walked away loving the meal but unimpressed with the disjointed experience altogether. For the price, I just won’t be trying this spot again.

I made a reservation late on a Saturday for me and a friend after a long day of moving (seafood sounded good) and we ended up with the best seat in the house for a ‘romantic dinner’ LOL! My girlfriend Kristen and I found it quite enjoyable too hahah! Look at the photos; it was the only table in the corner facing the ‘waterfront’ with two walls of windows.
I highly recommend the bacon/​spinach chopped salad!!! Yumyum! I don’t recommend the small salad bar for $ 16.99!!! I do want to try their Cesar salad, it looks quite delicious. I don’t recommend the soup sampler… save your self the hassle and just order a full bowl of the lobster bisque or the clam chowder.
The Calamari is called Calamari & Friends… get it without the friends! It comes with fried vegetables mixed-​in (carrots, peppers etc). I personally like my veggies fresh, not fried and my calamari lonely with lemon :) They did accommodate my preference when I asked for plain, lightly breaded and fried calamari. And they did not over fry it to death like many places do in the valley.
I have eaten at Chart House a few times with my friend Kristen and she has gotten the crab cake every time, so I think it is safe to assume it is delicious! I have had many of their fish dishes (halibut, mahi mahi, and salmon) and all have been good. Nothing particularly stood out, but it was all great to eat which is why I come back. Good seafood can be a rough find in the desert.
Service here is a bit dicey, you never know what you are going to get, some are better than others. I also always feel like they are trying to hard sell me on more food, which annoys me. Many times when I opt for seafood I am trying to eat ‘lighter’ and I don’t need somebody hounding me to eat a four course meal.
I have had the lava cake here once and I give it two thumbs up! It is quite large for a lava cake too so you can definitely share… if you want :)
As for location, obviously other Chart Houses are on the beach and have amazing locations, but for Scottsdale I guess it is as close to ‘waterfront’ as you can get!

They say, you can never go home, or go back. Well, I’ve never bought into that.
Over the years, we’ve been in almost a dozen or so Chart Houses. Sadly, many have closed due to whatever corporate reorg was going on at the time. I miss the ones in Steamboat and Newport, RI the most. Great locations and views.
So it was with some excitement that we made reservations here for Easter Sunday dinner. Surprisingly, we have never been to this location.
We arrived a few minutes before six and found our hostess in a middle of a hiccups fit. I offered to frighten her but she decline. I guess I was scary enough. LOL
There was also some confusion over our reservations, but it didn’t last long. We were escorted to our table, over by the window with a magnificent view of the lake. You got to give Chart House credit for choosing some great locations!
We started with a glass of Merlot and Pinot each. Both were very good for house wines. We also opted for the salads, the warm bacon dressing was delicious, as was the Caesar.
Things started slowly declining from here. I asked about getting their Callahan Prime Rib End Cut ($ 33.99). Seems the kitchen couldn’t make up their minds if they had one.
First it was no, then yes and finally surprise, they delivered a regular cut. It was tasteless with no flavor at all. When we were paying I mentioned it to our server, all they could say was, «oh yeah.» Grrr. LOL. The other entrée was their Beef Tenderloin Medallions ($ 31.99) which was very good.
For dessert, we ordered the Chocolate Lava Cake to share with some coffee. It came damaged and somewhat of a mess. LOL. See our photo, versus the Chart House one. Our waiter apologized saying they should have been picked it up sooner. (Okay, why didn’t you bring us another one?).
The current owners of Chart House is Landry, a very classy and sharp organization. I would suggest they work on this location before they need to close this one too.
Our bill, including two glasses of wine ran us $ 80.00 a person, including taxes and gratuities.
Now why didn’t we go to Capital Grill I wonder? Well, maybe next time.
For a positive review of a Chart House, I call your attention to my friend Norm’s recent experience in Las Vegas.